Japan's PM warns China against island landings

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has vowed to "expel by force" any Chinese landing on the archipelago in the East China Sea.

Toru Hanai: Reuters

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is threatening to expel by force any Chinese landing on a group of islands claimed by both nations.

The Japanese coastguard says it has spotted eight Chinese ships sailing near the island chain in the East China Sea while conducting routine surveillance.

The uninhabited rocky outcrops, called the Dioayu islands by China and the Senkakus by Japan, are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are believed to harbour vast natural resources below their seabed.

Tokyo has also hauled in China's ambassador to lodge a protest over Chinese ships sailing close to the islands.

"We would take decisive action against any attempt to enter territorial waters and to land" on the islands," Mr Abe told parliament in response to questions from lawmakers.

"It would be natural for us to expel by force if (the Chinese) were to make a landing."

Chinese ships have frequently sailed around the five Tokyo-controlled islands in recent months sparking diplomatic clashes.

War shrine visits

The latest clash over the islands came as Japanese lawmakers visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine in central Tokyo, seen as a potent symbol of Japan's imperialist past, riling its neighbours China and South Korea.

On Monday Seoul shelved a proposed trip by foreign minister Yun Byung-Se to Tokyo in protest over the weekend visits to the shrine.